Authors: Shirlee Lewis
With no time to waste, I swallowed my food, drank my coffee, took my shower and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.
Arriving at the Colosseum, its tall magnificent structure gave me goose bumps. Tony and I were in so much awe over the size we couldn’t wait to see the inside. From the top of the Colosseum I looked down to see rows of brick in single lines. The Colosseum
was used, once upon a time, for horse racing and gladiatorial battles. Visiting the Colosseum took all morning and into the middle of the afternoon. We also visited the museum and I purchased a poster of the Colosseum along with a t-shirt.
Vatican City was next on Tony’s list. Going straight to the museum, my mouth dropped to the floor. The art work was spectacular and took about two hours for us to see everything.
Standing in front of St. Peter’s tomb a feeling of peace came over me. My worries disappeared as I looked the building over.
We asked permission to see the gardens and it wasn’t a disappointment. St. John’s Tower, Fountain of the Eagle, and the frosted walkway took us an hour and a half to see, but
was well worth it.
My first day of sightseeing was the best day I had had in a long time. Just two places today, but they were well worth the time.
Arriving back at the hotel, I filled the Jacuzzi, turned on the pumps and eased myself into the bubbling water. Tony waited on room service before he joined me.
Fettuccine Alfredo and coffee was my choice for dinner, but it was enough for a family of five. I ate what I wanted and left the rest.
Tony came over to me as I lay my head back on the edge of the bath. He was in a mood I wasn’t ready for. He started at the top of my head twirling my hair with his fingers. Opening my eyes to see what he was doing, he leaned down and passionately kissed me. His mood brought me in the mood and the rest was history in the Jacuzzi.
Check-out at the hote
l was noon so Tony and I packed and loaded the car before our sightseeing tour started. He reassured me I could rest on the drive to Sicily.
Our last day in Rome wasn’t as intense as the first. Tony showed me Piazza di Spagna, Ambasciata di Spagna Presso Santa Sede (Spanish Steps), Fontana di Trevi,
Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Augustus Form (Roman Forum). All were an enjoyment and a memory to last a life time, but it was time to hit the road for Taormina.
The seven hour trip was tiring, but not entirely disappointing. Basically the same terrain I had seen from Modena to Rome.
Villa San Giovanni had a ferry service to Messina which took forty minutes. The hour long drive to Taormina was eventful. Mount Etna’s spectacular height could be seen from the road and I stared with wide eyes. I had never seen a volcano and it intrigued me. We stopped at a restaurant that had Mount Etna as the backdrop with an ocean view from the other side. The large terrace showed the breathtaking beauty of the town below and the shoreline. Mountains surrounded Taormina.
Dusk was creep
ing upon us and the waiter asked if we preferred our dinner on the terrace. We couldn’t refuse. The setting sun had clouds beckoning the horizon without rain. Its rays peaked through thin clouds giving off colors of blue, pink and a small hint of red. We then left to continue our sightseeing.
Atop a mountain sat the Madonna
della Rocca structured into the side of it. The ceilings of the bottom floor were cut out of the mountain. Tony could easily touch it. The town in clear view sat far below with the Greek Theater on the other side.
Inside the Church of Madonna
, a couple was getting married. Tony and I participated as spectators. We didn’t understand a word from the priest, but nonetheless it was a wedding surely to remember.
Our last stop was the Greek
Theater. A modern seating area in the front and a modern stage was over grown with grass. A skit was being rehearsed for this evening’s performance. Tony and I watched the actors and actresses perform with tigers and bears, but Tony and I were ready to get back to Modena.
Tony had decided to drive back at night instead of in the morning. So after we drove through Villa San Giovanni, I thought I would sleep.
Tony woke me on the outskirts of Modena. “Sweetie, we’re here,” he whispered
, rubbing my cheek with his forefinger.
Opening my eyes, I squinted and yawned because I wasn’t fully awake. “Where’s here?” I asked. Not sure where here was.
“Modena.”
We arrived at the hotel around five in the morning. Tony looked beat when he parked the car. “You need some sleep honey. I’ll unpack the car.”
“You sure, Jess. It won’t take us but one trip.”
“You need sleep. I’ll get it.”
The desk clerk handed our room keys to Tony. He gave me one and I went to unload the car. Tony went to the room.
Grabbing all but one bag, I looked around to see who was watching me. That uneasy feeling of being watched started to unnerved me and I didn’t care for that feeling at
all. The last time I felt this way was with Charlotte and I didn’t care for this feeling then or now. Looking the parking lot over, I was the only one here. Glancing at the building, I noticed a curtain pulled back from a window on our floor. I knew the couple was on the same floor. What I didn’t know was which room.
Probably another guest
, I guessed and brushed it off as nothing. Grabbing the bags, I closed the trunk and proceeded to our room.
Tony was snoring when I opened the door. Setting the bags down, I lightly kissed his forehead, whispered “I love you” and left to retrieve the last bag.
The couple, who followed us before we left to tour Italy, came out of their room at the same time I came out of mine. Ignoring them, I shut the door behind me, making sure it was tightly shut and went to get the last bag.
Entering the elevator, the couple joined me. I moved to the back and watched as they turned their backs to me with their heads ducked down. The man pushed the button for the first floor. I had never been this close to them and upon examination of the woman I came to the conclusion she
was
wearing a wig. Her dark hairline showed around her ears and temple. The wig, mullet style, looked to be too small for her head.
The man’s hair was short and black without a hair out of place.
I noticed the odd makeup the woman was wearing. Under her chin it was white as a sheet. Her neck, visible from the front, was tan exactly as her face, making me think of a spray on tan. I giggled to myself.
When the elevator doors opened
, they exited toward the dining area which opened in thirty minutes. The smell of coffee drifted toward me as I exited the elevator and followed the couple to the dining room. “Carl, no sugar this time, only cream,” the woman told him getting her cell phone from her pocket.
“Jane, I know,” he answered.
Hitting a number, she held the phone to her ear. Sighing, she closed the phone.
“She didn’t answer?” Carl asked handing Jane a cup. He looked at me and his body went rigid. Sharply he cut his eyes at Jane then back to me.
“I’ll try her later,” she replied looking up at him.
Carl nodded towards me.
Jane turned around. Her mouth fell into a straight line as her body stiffened. Turning back around to Carl, she whispered, “Why didn’t you tell me she was there?”
Carl shrugged.
They took off to the lobby with coffee in hand. Getting myself a cup, my thoughts about them were playing over and over in my mind.
They were defiantly an odd couple.
Sitting at a table facing the lobby, I watched as they took a seat on the divan. Carl glanced back toward me and whispered to Jane. Jane held her phone back up to her ear. This time her mouth was moving.
“What are you up too?” I quietly asked myself.
Before I retrieved the last bag from the car, I watched the couple until they left the lobby. Before the elevator door opened they glanced toward me. Jane cut her eyes and Carl looked toward the floor before his eyes found me. I didn’t take my eyes off of them until the doors closed and watched the light come on indicating the elevator was at the third floor.
Satisfied they were in their room, I went outside. Looking at the window where I first saw the curtain move, I noticed the curtain pulled back and Jane looking down at me. “Okay, just what are you up too?” Jane and Carl were defiantly strange people. Smiling up at her, she closed the curtain. Laughing all the way to the car I got the last bag, glanced up at the window with a smile still on my face and then went back to the dining area getting a cup of coffee before going back to my room.
Tony was rolling over when I opened the door to our room. His eyes opened, but closed as quickly as they opened. Setting the bag down, I unpacked it then headed over to the bed. Softly, I sat on the bed beside him. He rolled toward me wrapping his arm around my waist. The remote sat on the nightstand on Tony’s side of the bed.
Why didn’t I grab it before I got on the bed
? Oh well—I would try to squirm my way out from under his arm.
Finally getting out from under Tony and getting the remote, I turned on the television to only wake him up when the sound was turned up all the way. I had pushed the wrong button.
Tony sat on the edge of the bed running his fingers through his hair. “How long did I sleep?” he asked looking at the clock. The clock said it was a little after three in the afternoon.
“You needed the rest honey.”
“We have a train to catch to Munich, Germany tonight.”
“We do? I’ve already unpacked.”
“I guess you’ll have to pack then. We have to be in Bologna in two hours.”
Tony went to get his flask and I started packing the bags again. He could have told me, but then again he loved surprising me.
After the bags were packed and Tony took a shower, we were off again to Bologna to catch the train to Germany.
Chapter Twelve
There wasn’t much to see on the train ride to Germany because the only train departing Bologna, Italy for Munich, Germany was at night arriving at six in the morning. Tony tried to sleep, but I slept like a baby.
The train station arrivals were located in the basement.
Arriving at the train station in Munich before the sun came up, afraid we’d get lost, the Germans pointed us in the right direction for the exit; making our way up two flights of stairs bringing us into the hub of the station. Row after row of trains, with passengers loading and unloading to their next destination was located in the heart of the station. Businesses lined the southern, western and northern sides of the enormous station with bookstores, cafes and restaurants throughout with several exits leading to the street. Tony and I weren’t sure which exit to take, so we asked a German man, speaking broken English, the direction of the exit and our hotel. He was happy to oblige.
Our hotel, in walking distance from the train station, was about two blocks away. Our room located on the fourth floor faced the street. Opening the door, I noticed bare walls and a desk fan for our air conditioner. I had to laugh out loud. A small cabinet sitting against the wall by the only window in the room was big enough for only a few clothes. The mini bar was completely empty, but we were charged full price, per day, for it. It was the hotels rules so we paid and didn’t complain. Making the most of it, I
turned on the television to discover only one channel spoke English which turned out to be a news program.
Two single beds
sat on either side of the room. Tony and I pushed them together to make one bed, crisscrossing the mattresses so neither one would fall in the middle to the floor.
“We’re here for three days and tomorrow you’re going to see castles.”